Juncos Hollinger Racing announced Wednesday that it has parted ways with its Argentinian driver Agustin Canapino with immediate effect.
Canapino has been with the team since the start of the 2023 when he moved to America to join the NTT IndyCar Series and race open wheel cars for the first time.
The 34-year-old took to the new discipline quickly, as well as learning English faster than most expected, and helped the growing team establish itself on the grid.
Canapino piloted JHR’s second car for the past season and a half, earning seven top 15 finishes but could never break into the top 10 during a points paying race.
The Argentinian also brought a fair bit of controversy with him, as he failed to properly acknowledge or denounce multiple rounds of death threats made by his passionate fans online.
His responses led to a termination of a newly-formed partnership between JHR and Arrow McLaren and also resulted in him being benched for June’s Road America event at the last moment.
It is not known how heavily these incidents influenced the team’s decision to release him before the conclusion of the season, but the language of the press release made it seem as if the two parties are leaving on good terms.
“We commend Agustin for taking the leap into open wheel racing with us over the last year and a half, not only learning a completely new style of racing from his impressive and storied career, but also moving to the US and learning the language to join our series,” read JHR’s statement.
“Both Agustin and the team have worked tirelessly to learn, grow, and succeed throughout his time at JHR, and we are extremely proud of what we have achieved together.
“We thank Agustin for his time at Juncos Hollinger Racing and will be cheering him on as he continues his journey. Gracias, Agustin!”
There are five more races in the 2024 IndyCar season, and JHR has not yet announced who will be driving the #78 entry.
The team has opted to have Conor Daly behind the wheel for recent testing, which leaves the 32-year-old as one of the most likely options.
